[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 98 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S4302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 1610. A bill to eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement 
officers, promote accountability for State and local law enforcement 
agencies, reenfranchise citizens, eliminate sentencing disparities, and 
promote re-entry and employment programs, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I have introduced legislation along with 
Senator Cardin called the Building And Lifting Trust In order to 
Multiply Opportunities and Racial Equity, or the BALTIMORE Act.
  The people of Sandtown-Winchester, the people of Baltimore, and all 
Americans need to know they have a government on their side. Right now 
there is a trust gap between the people and the police department.
  Baltimore is my hometown. I have lived there all my life. But what 
happened in Baltimore earlier this year could have happened anywhere, 
in anyone's hometown. I don't want to see this happen anywhere else. 
Where there is broken trust, we must rebuild it. And where there is 
lost hope, we must restore it.
  That is why I joined Senator Cardin in introducing the BALTIMORE Act. 
This bill is a package of reforms intended to reestablish a sense of 
trust between communities and the police departments that protect them.
  First, the bill would ban discriminatory profiling by State and local 
law enforcement based on race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. 
The bill makes sure that if police departments are receiving Federal 
funding, they are also adopting practices to cease the use of 
discriminatory profiling. It holds police departments accountable by 
requiring them to share officer training information, including how 
officers are trained in the use of force, racial and ethnic bias, de-
escalating conflicts, and constructive engagement with the public. It 
also authorizes a grant program to assist local law enforcement 
agencies in purchasing body-worn cameras.
  We need to look at how our sentencing laws contribute to racial 
disparity in our justice system. That is why this bill would reclassify 
specific, low-level, non-violent drug possession felonies as 
misdemeanors. The bill also eliminates the distinction between crack 
and powder cocaine.
  Finally, the bill authorizes $200 million annually for the Department 
of Labor's Reentry Employment Opportunities Program through the 
Workforce Investment Opportunity Act. This is important funding to give 
people a hand up--not a hand out. It also encourages the White House to 
``ban the box'' in the Federal contracting process. This would allow 
employers to eliminate questions about criminal convictions on initial 
job applications.
  Baltimore has begun to heal. We will come together as a community and 
a city to rebuild. But I do not want to see another great American 
hometown follow in Baltimore's footsteps. I urge my colleagues to 
support this legislation.
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